Customer Reviews

Laura Live World Tour 09: Italian Version (CD/DVD) (PAL/Region 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When most singers release live albums, it is simply a recording of one or two nights on stage - a drop in the proverbial bucket of touring. Rather than submit to this format (which she used on her previous three concert DVDs), Italian pop superstar Laura Pausini tried something new: she taped nearly every show she performed and released a song or two from each location. Instead of capturing one moment in time, she managed to present several moments from her most recent Primavera in Anticipo World Tour.

"Laura Live World Tour 09" is the result of this ingenious plan. Like most of Pausini's other live releases, it comes as both a CD and a DVD, though the tracklists are quite different. Whether you get the Spanish or Italian version, the DVD consists of songs performed in both languages, though the majority of this one is, appropriately, in Italian. Opening with 'Invece No' live from around the world, each track is introduced by its location and then a delightful performance. The actual filming is quite nice, with effects to make the music more powerful and a brilliant capturing of the essence of the venue. And the music is a good collection of Pausini's many hits - every single one of her albums is represented in some form at the show.

Then there are the extras - and Laura Pausini has certainly not skimped on these! Her four most recent music videos are here ('Un Fatto Ovvio', 'Con La Musica Alla Radio', 'Non Sono Lei', and 'Casomai'), along with two making of the video featurettes ('Con La Musica Alla Radio' and 'Non Sono Lei'). There's also a behind-the-scenes look at the tour, as well as several rare tracks that were performed at different stops. 'E Poi', a song by Giorgia, was sung at Pausini's Rome stop where the other Italian star was in attendance; 'Paris au Mois d'Aout' is a duet with her father, Fabrizio Pausini; 'Napule E' was performed in Naples; 'Vitti Na Crozza', a traditional Sicilian tune, was sung in Palermo; and 'Heal the World', a tribute to Michael Jackson, was done in many cities. And, like the concert, it all is subtitled in English, Spanish, and Italian.

The CD is slightly different. Since this is the Italian version of the set, the CD is entirely in that language, so some of the versions are different from those on the DVD version. In addition, the tracklist is different. While they weren't featured on the DVD, mega-hits like 'La Solitudine' and 'Resta in Ascolto' are in fact on the CD. I'm not quite sure why the two differ so much, other than the fact that Pausini may have wanted to simply include more music than there was room for.

There have been some questions posted about whether this set is in NTSC/Region 1/Region 0 format or PAL/Region 2 format. Since I have a region-free DVD player, I can't answer that. I can, however, give those of you interested a bit of a warning: the disc took nearly two months to arrive. Despite the fact that Amazon has consistently presented this item as if it is in stock, that has not actually been the case. Mine was pre-ordered back in early November and Amazon was unable to locate a copy until January 15. For me it was well worth the wait, but some of you may find it annoying.

Overall, despite the mix of languages on the "Italian" edition and a different CD/DVD tracklist, I absolutely love "Laura Live". Pausini is truly an extraordinary performer, and as she is still virtually unknown here in the majority of the US, this has been my only chance to see her "live". And since she has announced a two-year break from touring, it will tide me over until her next release.

The CD is great. The quality of the songs is outstanding. Her voice is crystal clear and it sounds like you are actually there. It could have had a few more songs on it though. None of the medleys are included.

The DVD is not so good. Laura appears in about 25% of the video. The rest is shots of the band, backup vocalists, and a whole lot of the audience. It also suffers from changing scenes every five seconds or so. It is quite distracting. If you want an example of how it should be done look up her performance of "Tra te e il mare" from the Italian show Due on YouTube.

What made this a three-star rating rather than a four-star was the selection of songs. "Non c'e" and "Resta in ascolto" are not there. For some inexplicable reason "Strani amori" and the medley that includes "Gente", "Il mio sbaglio piu grande", and "Bellissimo cosi" are in Spanish rather than Italian. "Bellissimo cosi" proved to be popular enough that in later concerts she performed it in it's entirety, yet it is only part of a medley here. At least she finally did a live performance of "Due innamorati come noi" which is one of her best songs ever.

I'm satsified with my purchase, but it could have been better. I would recommend her Paris concert if you can find a copy.

if you love laura pausini and iven if not you have to buy this cd+you get the dvd of the concert.it a cd that you can hear a lot of times and youl never got tired of him.

I enjoyed this dvd. I wanted the Italian version(though it is more expensive). I wanted concerts that were mostly set in Italy, and I'm glad I ordered this one. Laura is always entertaining, and the dvd is the next best thing to being there.

Few people in the U.S. know Laura Pausini. That's a true loss. She is incredibly famous in Italy, as well as, the rest of Europe, and the Latin countries of South America. In fact, Laura just won the Latin Grammy for 2009 for Best Female album (Spanish), and consider this - her native language is Italian! Truly, an amazing talent.

The World Tour album contains a CD and concert DVD that is amazingly produced. The DVD never bores you because the producer cuts in her music videos into the live concert, along with very cool graphics. I live in the U.S. and the DVD (Italian version) played beautifully on my blue-ray with plasma t.v. Thi is the region 2 selection. There is also a non-region version also sold on Amazon which I purchased. Perfect clearity and sound.

I felt I was "there" at times. The sound is crisp and clear. I found no faults whatsoever in the entire DVD. The CD is the concert version of the DVD. My only complaint is simply that they did not include a "digital" copy of the DVD to place on my Ipod. So, I can only hear the concert.

Laura's personality comes through in each and every song and you can see she "feels" the words and music - whose lyrics are passionate and deeply moving. Most of her songs are soft, love songs...but she has a few that rock. The best known English song is "Surrender" which is much better performed during her 2005 Live Paris concert.

Overall, this is a 5-star album/CD/DVD. Well worth the retail asking price.

It is delicious to hear Laura singing in Italian. Enorme disco que recopila varios de sus mayores éxitos en directo. Gracias.

First, let me caveat my review to say that I am a LP fanatic, I have all her discs and videos and I can listen to her non-stop for months on end. I am also infatuated with her persona and appearance.

That said, this is not her best video. Most (but not all of the tracks) have been released before. The video is "artificial" in that it is a compendium of highly edited parts of her concerts throughout the world. Perhaps this is a matter of taste; I prefer a natural un-interrupted record of a concert with no or very few effects.

The new tracks are wonderful songs, however, and obviously I will be listening to and watching this video for a long time, my obsession with LP goes on.

I really enjoy watching the video of her tour. It is such an ecclectical view of her tour. I think it is great to actually see her perform rather than just hearing her sing.

I just got my copy of this selection as it is NTSC not PAL and it is all regions. Amazon I love you. This is my 5 Laura DVD, I have some PAL of other Italian and Spanish artists. I was about to buy a non region player here about sixty dollars. I have used my laptop for this.

Your comments on Laura are right on the dot I learned of her since her 1st album. Through my sister as a Dante Alegieri Italian student in Mexico. She has since (15 years) launched many albums, that I buy religously in both Italian and Spanish. I learned Italian thanks to her music. I was in the Roma stop of this tour on November 09. BTW the video inserts that you mention are shown in the stage which is a set of LED screen. No plain/painted backgrounds, You can see the LEDs in the close ups and the Images when the PAN out. BTW my spanish version of this has not arrived jet.

I have more than 200 italian pop/rock album. Thanks to amazon there are many mp3s here now, making for cheaper buys. But I must say that even thou the DVD came out the day I arrived in Rome. The EUR price was higher so I love Amazon for it's competitive price event though there are "Import" albums.

I'm a major LP fan. So much so that while I live in San Francisco I flew down to Los Angeles to see her perform there (2nd row) and then several weeks later I again flew to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida to see her at the Hard Rock (3rd rwo).

The Laura Live World Tour 09 CD/DVD set isn't as good as SAN SIRO and here's why:

San Siro is a full concert and it flows as a complete 'movie'. World Tour 09 is a assortment of segments from various parts of the world. It does not a flow and you'll find yourself fast-forwarding or skipping.

The venues are marked or named but we found that footage from one concert that claims to be coming from say Barcelona isn't really coming from Barcelona. Neither are the fans or the actual venue. The footage has tons of editing to have made a pre-Christmas release.

I can't figure out the difference from the international version versus the USA release. They are virtually the same.

There is also a third version to be released that claims to be 100% Spanish but I suspect the footage based on what I have seen pre-advertised to be pretty much the same as the two initial releases.

I'm not complaing because I will own all three DVD/CD sets as they are released! This is stunning music. Laura is a stunning artist and most American's are clueless as to her talent. On the other hand, I have something few in America have.

At $100.00 a DVD/CD this would be well worth it but in the real world, it's between just $18-$25.

Take a look at SAN SIRO (live) by Laura Pausini for the superior live release as well. Her best.

Laura claims on her website that she won't tour again until 2012. I'd suspect otherwise because Laura lives for music like few can even come close to.